


No Gestalt

by Makeshift_Mousepad



Series: No Gestalt [1]
Category: No Gestalt
Genre: Immortality, Nanobots, Philosophy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Makeshift_Mousepad/pseuds/Makeshift_Mousepad
Summary: A lone human being has become the central node to a planetary network of nanobots. After conquering humanity, they spend their time alone, fading from memory. What did they discover by achieving near godhood? One woman is about to find out by disturbing over a hundred years of solitude.
Series: No Gestalt [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202783





	1. Part 1: No Gestalt

If it was possible for him to do so, he would have lost track of time after becoming immortal. His human body was seated on the peak of a small hill amidst a rolling green landscape. At this point, his body was just an heirloom from his past. He was unchanged from when he was human but his eyes were now a deep, almost glowing, orange. His true body wrapped around the entirety of the earth and moon in the form of a network of nanobots. Periodically, great towers of his nanobots extended high into the atmosphere and deep into the cold bedrock. These towers contained supercomputers with more processing power than every computer humanity had ever built combined.

For better or for worse, his peaceful evening would be ending soon. Joseph’s nanobots detected footsteps on the terrain near him that had steadily been getting closer; their path seemed unplanned.  
However, just a few seconds before this person would walk over the hill, something occurred to him. It had been a little longer than one human life span since anybody had seen his human body, so it was quite likely that whoever was approaching would be the only human currently alive that had seen him in person.

When she appeared over the hill, she quickly noticed Joseph reclined against the slope of the ground.

She blinked, “Hi there… I didn’t expect to find someone else… uh.” She stammered. “Hiking… this late in the evening.”

“I wasn’t hiking.”

“Oh… Okay.” The woman shuffled a bit and looked over at the sunset. “This hill looked like the best spot to catch the view. Is that why you’re here?”

“Pretty much.” He gazed back at the sky. “Speaking of which, here it comes.”  
The interactions he had with people around a hundred years ago, usually resulted in using nanobots to forcibly read their minds. It quickly told him everything that a person could ever express and more. Doing that now would have been a quick and easy task but a thought occurred to him, I haven’t had a normal conversation in a long time. Maybe I’ll learn something by taking the time to talk.

“I’m Joseph. What’s your name?” he questioned.

“Ariadne.”

“Like the story of the labyrinth in Greek mythology? Has that become a common name?”

She looked at him, confused. “Uh… no. It doesn’t matter,” she exhaled.

When facing the light, Joseph noticed her face was pale and sharply contrasted by the dark bags under her eyes. “Do you not like thinking about the rest of the world?” He asked.

She didn’t respond.

“It would take you hours to walk back to the nearest town. And that is assuming you walk in a straight line.” Joseph stopped. He realized the implications of her actions, so he decided to change the subject. The sun had just finished setting over a distant hill. “Do you want to watch the sunset again?”

She gave him a tired look. “Do you mean, like, when you lay on your stomach and stand up quickly to see the sunset a second time?”

“Precisely,” Joseph smiled. “But I have a better way of doing it.” Pointing his hand towards the horizon, he gestured as if pushing a button. As he did, the distant hill that the sun was behind, drooped down into the earth like it had been turned into sand and blown over.

He waited for the realization to dawn on her. The look of surprise that turns into terror at the presence of a god. The only face humanity had ever shown Joseph. But he didn’t see it. He couldn’t hear her heartbeat pick up, or smell adrenaline on her breath. She hardly even batted an eye.

“To think that I would run into a god at a time like this,” Ariadne spoke under her breath.

Joseph rolled his eyes. “I’ve made it clear on every possible occasion that I’m not a god.”

Ariadne raised her brow. “You just made a hill disappear with the wave of your hand. What am I supposed to call you?”

“All of the land out here is filled with my nanobots. All they did was move out of the way. There’s nothing godly about it.”

The sun gleamed across the landscape as it dropped beneath the horizon, once again. Their faces were bathed in the avenue of light as the rest of the world went dark. Joseph’s eyes glistened in the light of the sun. But when the sun disappeared, his eyes continued to glow. The two were silent.

A thought dawned on him, Am I frustrated right now? He turned back towards the horizon and spoke softly. “Can I ask a favor of you Ariadne? Would you keep me company for a bit longer? If you do, I’ll tell you stories of the world from hundreds of years ago.”

“From when you were a human?”

“Yes. Whatever I’ve kept in my memory, I’ll be willing to share.”

“Sure,” she shrugged. “You probably already figured out that I don’t exactly have anywhere to be.”

“I’m sorry,” he pursed his lips. “But given the circumstance, it was obvious that you walked out here hoping to die.” Joseph stood up. “But this is no time to think about death. After all, you’re about to see the story of my creation from my perspective.”  
Joseph raised his hands towards the sky and caressed the air. The nanobots that controlled the weather surged with electricity. They formed an aurora that took clean shapes as he spoke.

“The short version is that I was once a human and a computer scientist. I created the software that conducted nanobot swarms within the human body. That software would eventually grow into what I use to house my consciousness today.”

“Well, that was boring.”

“Yeah,” Joseph smiled. “But the long version would take days to tell. So, I’ll just focus on the exciting parts.” The scenes in the sky grew and stretched across the horizon. The sky filled with images of a colossal war like a tapestry stretching over earth. Within that image, a silver mass webbed and stretched in all directions. No definite end could be seen to it but this mass did have a beginning. At the center of the scene stood a figure glistening and silver, its eyes burned with the strength of the sun. The mass formed into razors, claws, teeth, and all manner of crude weaponry. “When I went to war with humanity, there was almost no hope of defeating me. I was like a god… unstoppable and hateful.”

The scene in the sky changed to show one of Joseph’s towers being struck by a hydrogen bomb. “When the world’s governments gave up on their citizens, they doomed the entire planet to a nuclear winter. Or at least they would have if I hadn’t planned for that. I mislead the world to think that my towers were vital for the operation of my nanobots. When in reality, most of them were meant to absorb nuclear blasts. Because all those thousands of nukes were concentrated on a few specific locations, instead of across the globe, the radiation wasn’t able to spread far.” Joseph brought his hands in front of his face. “All of those battles... but I never caused anyone’s death.” The scenes vanished giving way to the night sky.

“I’m confused. You said you would share stories from when you were a human.”

“Trust me. A war is the most human thing I could show.”

“This, coming from… not a human?” Ariadne rolled her eyes at Joseph.

“Forget I said anything,” Joseph smiled. This is kind of fun, he thought. Even a bit nostalgic.

“Fine. It’s obvious that you willingly made yourself this way. But what made you choose to do it? When did you really stop being a human?”

“Hmm.” Joseph pondered the question. He searched his mind for any story-worthy events in his life. But he found something more interesting. Something was missing from his memory.

His memories were crystal clear but there were voids in images and events. It was like a hole puncher had been taken to his mind. Only I could have done this and I wouldn’t have deleted these if there wasn’t a good reason. I’m curious but should I really uproot something I intentionally deleted? He thought. However, all of these cuts are too blatant and clear. If I wanted them hidden, I would have done better than this. This must be something that I wanted to be rediscovered. With his mind made up he went to work looking for a way to restore his memory.

As he reeled through his memories, one in particular stood out. One searing point pressed against the depths of his mind. That’s it, he thought. There’s no doubt now. This is the secret I had hidden from myself.

Deep within him was an image of himself and a woman standing in front of him. All evidence of her existence had been deleted from Joseph’s memory. But this small moment would have easily gone unnoticed. In the memory, he was looking at a mirror and the person in front of him had their back turned to the mirror. Ah, because they appeared twice in this memory, I only deleted one instance of their image, He thought. Meaning that my nanobots could rebuild the memory to see who was missing. And they did, swiftly creating a model of the memory in only a few seconds.

“Your eyes.” Ariadne chimed in. “They look so grey. Did they really look like that?”

“Yes,” Joseph responded. “Like the point where the ocean met the sky, silver, and silent. Just like the last thing those eyes ever saw.”

“Joseph… who is she?” Ariadne asked.

Facing the sculpture of Joseph was the figure from his memory. Her back was turned but this was, without question, the person that gave him cause to erase their existence from his memory.

“Ariadne. You were wondering when I stopped being human. The truth is that it wasn’t the nanobots that changed me. It was whoever has their back turned to us now.” Joseph took a small step closer to the unknown woman when he recoiled from a foreign sensation. He looked back at Ariadne to see her holding his hand. “Why are you trying to stop me?” He glared back at her. “Are you afraid I might revert back to that version of me that waged war on humanity.”

“You were shaking, Joseph. You seemed like you needed the comfort.”

Joseph’s expression relaxed and he looked away from her. Has it really been so long since someone showed me sympathy that it hurts to be touched. He focused his attention on the mystery woman. That person will bring back whatever haunting memories are within me. Hundreds of years between me and that pain are about to disappear in the blink of an eye. And right now, the image of my human-self is smiling down at them.

“Thank you… Ariadne. You’ve lived up to your namesake.”

Every instinct in his body fired with warnings to stop. With each step he took to see the face under the woman’s hair his mind screamed at him to avert his eyes and his heart pleaded that he forget this moment. But he continued regardless.  
Until he saw her.

Eyes that burned like the setting sun. Her smile caused a nostalgic pain in Joseph.

All of existence faded from Joseph’s perception. He collapsed to his knees. “I crossed the boundaries of immortality. I obtained the power to bend all of humanity to my will. I stood at the pinnacle of existence.” He uttered. “But I couldn’t escape my own humanity. When I became the being you see now, I thought I was accomplishing something incredible. But I wasn’t reaching towards the future. I was running away from my past. Away from the pain that achieving near godhood couldn’t escape. Being alone... Losing the only thing that made me happy.” Joseph looked up at Ariadne, “I miss my dear friend. And I think about them every day.”

Ariadne offered her hand to help Joseph to his feet. “You’re still just a human. Aren’t you, Joseph.”

“Yes. And that can’t be changed.” How long has it been since I’ve seen sympathy? Joseph thought. It’s like seeing the moon rise where the sun should be. Joseph took hold of her hand and stood up. “Let’s leave this place. I want to remember what the world is like. Thank you, Ariadne.”

Across the globe, without any warning, a strange occurrence took place. The towers that had radiated heat and hummed day and night went quiet. Their unnatural tendency to stay clean and reject the erosion of nature around them halted. Plants began growing up their sides and frost gathered on top of them. Then, over time everyone started to forget what they were and where they came from.


	2. Part 2: Soft Rains came from the Shore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Joseph's solitary days, away from humanity, he attempted to change the world. In his grief, he brought humanity to the brink of destruction.

Barnacles reached out into the water, waiting for their next meal. A school of fish prodded at the seams between their exterior. The barnacles retreated and the fish scattered as the water around them was flushed with bubbles.

“That’s the third time this hour that bird’s caught a fish.” Joseph leaned against a log of driftwood with his feet sinking into the wet sand. He kept his gaze on the horizon where a titanic structure loomed. As if a god was starting its garden, a bamboo-shoot the size of a mountain was sprouting from the ocean.

Joseph pointed to the base of the distant structure. “She’s made a nest in one of those nooks near the base.” He turned to face his guests, “In all the world’s oceans, how many fish do you think have been plucked from the water and lifted off to their death?”

“That’s him. Open fire!” A line of soldiers let loose a hail of bullets on Joseph. Even though they were rifles, their power seemed comparable to artillery fire. The barrage vaporized the log sending debris flying and clouding their sight. The chaos was enough to distract one soldier from the reality of his situation; his allies had already stopped firing.

He checked his surroundings. The low hanging dust and sand swept away to reveal limp bodies impaled on metallic spikes. Panic gripped him as he tried to understand what happened. But a gentle voice made his blood run cold.

“Two-milliseconds… You were two-milliseconds later than the others.”

He willed himself to look where the voice was coming from.

“You weren’t slower. You weren’t shaking in fear. You were hesitant. Why?” The craters in Joseph’s body were quickly bubbling away their damage.

“You… Killed them all!” The soldier found his resolve and raised his gun. Before his eyes could register what happened, his hand was broken and his gun was knocked far away.

Steam drifted off of Joseph’s fingertips. “I can crush tanks with my bare hands, kid. Did you think your gun would hurt me?” He glanced over his armor. “Your badge says ‘Jay.’ Is that your name or did the military give you that name when they turned your body into a weapon?”

Jay tightened his fists, setting his bones back in place “I did what I had to so I could kill you!” Jay went for an uppercut with his unbroken hand, but it shattered on contact with Joseph’s Jaw.

Joseph hardly flinched as he retaliated with the force of an artillery shell. The impact crumpled Jay’s armor into his chest and sent him tumbling to the edge of the waves. “You should just use your words, Jay.” Joseph walked over to his gasping body. “I can’t imagine that the salt water feels good on your wounds. But that’s alright, you won’t feel them in a moment. My nanobots should have fixed your ribs by now.”

Coughing up blood, Jay realized he was right. His ribs and hands had already healed themselves. “Why didn’t you kill just now?”

“Seems like you’ve finally calmed down. And all it took was a nearly dying.” Joseph smiled and waded past him into the soft waves. “Didn’t I already tell you why I didn’t kill you? You hesitated to shoot me and I want to know why.”

Jay sat up and steadied his breath, “You didn’t look like what I imagined. How was one person, sitting on the beach, capable of going to war with the entire planet?” Jay gritted his teeth. The quiet air left his mind defenseless to his memories and the rage they roused in him.

Joseph kept his eyes on the distant spire. “If you attack me again Jay, I’m just going to kill you. So why not listen to what I have to say? You might actually learn something.”

“…Fine.” Jay’s anger didn’t disappear, but fear held him in place.

“Me and an old coworker of mine were the ones who invented the first generation of nanobots. Did you know that?” Joseph paused for a response. “From the slight change in your facial muscles just now, I’d guess that you didn’t know that. And if it’s hidden from one of their super soldiers, it’s hidden from everyone.” He looked at his faded reflection in the water. “When I was still a regular human, I wanted to save humanity. My nanobots could cure any disease, halt aging and even reverse it! My creation marked the moment when humanity conquered nature and the needless suffering that came with our genetics.”

“Is this what saving humanity looks like!” Jay got to his feet and approached him, “The entire planet is a war-zone because of you! On this beach, alone, you’ve killed so many people, you killed my unit, you even killed the woman I loved!” Jay loomed over him, craning his neck like a bird of prey. “She died somewhere in the carnage on this beach. Why do you think I came here in the first place?!”

Joseph looked up at the spire, “Yet, you hesitated to shoot me.”

“You’re just trying to ignore any responsibility with that holier-than-thou attitude!”

Joseph turned his scorn towards Jay, “Humanity brought my world to an end! Now I am going to do the same to it! Humanity is driven by fear. When humans are backed into a corner, they become fearful wild animals that will do anything to survive. That instinct is at the very core of humanity and that will never change. The virtuous ego of mankind will never conquer its inner animosity. So, I will conquer humanity. This is the end of animosity, the end of tragedy, the end of humanity.” Joseph pointed behind Jay. “But not by my hand.”

Jay turned around, but he wasn’t prepared for what greeted him. For a moment it seemed as if the souls of his comrades were departing their bodies. But reality was not merciful. Behind them, claw marks cut across the sky, reaching towards the shore.

“You’ve seen it before, Jay. When those bombs land, light and color cease to exist. All that remains is the fire on the horizon. Your world is about to be thrown into the abyss by the people who sent you to kill me.”

Jay dropped to his knees.

“The story of fear never changes. Humanity creates endless cycles of war and needless suffering, rather than overcoming their fear. Like a cornered animal, they’re only interest is protecting themselves. Even if it means sacrificing everything. This is the same fear that took everything from me. And now, I’m going to bring this cycle to an end.” He approached Jay and put a hand on his shoulder, “There is no other way. I should know, Jay… you can’t escape what’s inside you.”

“…I’m not afraid of dying. I wouldn’t have come here if I was.” Jay got to his feet. “I once heard; humans came from a species that swung from branches high enough that falling would be fatal. The monkeys that were afraid of dying wouldn’t have kept swinging, let alone lived-in trees.” Jay’s eyes followed the bombs as they careened overhead. “You don’t know shit about human nature. Because fear is what keeps us moving forward.”

Joseph tilted his head, “Oh, what makes you say that?”

“When you killed Caroline, I wanted vengeance. I wasn’t afraid of being killed; I died the moment you killed the woman I loved. You think humans are defined by fear? Fine, then I came here because I was afraid of living with the fact that I did nothing while you kept killing.” Jay raised his arms into a fighting stance and the bombs began to plummet towards the distant spire. “I’ll reach the next branch, Joseph. I’ll keep moving forward until you’re dead!”

The scarlet glow in Joseph’s eyes faded, and all the color in the world followed. He became a chaotic silhouette against the light of the rising sun.

Faced with the fire of his dying world, Jay didn’t flinch. But even with all his strength driving into Joseph’s skull, Jay could only make him turn his head.

The radiance of nuclear hellfire gleamed across Joseph’s eyes, giving shape to his chaotic silhouette. For just a moment, Joseph felt something behind him; wrapping its arms around his chest.

Color and form gently returned to the world, but Jay wasn’t harmed by the blast. The shock wave had never hit him. The spire on the horizon had grown into a colossal tree-like structure with bulbous blue masses, blooming from its limbs.

“A soldier named ‘Caroline.’ Is that what you had said? Well, I have a Caroline with memories of an idiot who thought he could save the world by himself.” Joseph snapped and a metallic cocoon formed from the sand. The outline of a human quickly formed inside it before it split and spilled out a coughing and confused woman. “Does she look familiar, Jay?”

“…Caroline!” Jay ran to embrace her.

“Yup, that’s the one.” Joseph said.

“Jay! What… Why are you so tall?” The sock of the moment wore off and Caroline’s memories quickly returned to her. “You! Joseph! Don’t you think you could have done this without the war?”

“No. None of you would have accepted how little you mean to the world if I didn’t show you first hand. The people that called you heroes, the ones that you fought for. They were willing to plunge the world into a nuclear winter. Besides, I didn’t kill anyone. All of their brains have been achieved in my network. It will just take time to grow new bodies for them.” Joseph gave them a waving gesture as if to shoo them away. “Now go on, Jay. Live your life far away from pain, far away from war, and far away from this version of yourself.”

“Joseph. Thank you for bringing Caroline back.” Jay said.

Joseph cupped his hands over his chest.

“What is it?” Caroline asked.

Joseph smirked, “It’s nothing. I just felt nostalgic for someone I once knew.”

The world began to rebuild and grow alongside Joseph. His trees proved to be a constant reminder of the past. But slowly the memories of war began to fade. Birds began nesting in the monuments to Joseph’s victory. And slowly the memory of what they were and where they came from began to fade.


End file.
